The US Supreme Court on Friday reversed a 1973 decision that guaranteed full access to abortion in the country. From now on, each US state can decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is allowed.
Understand what changes with this Friday’s decision.
Is abortion banned in the United States?
No, but its release is now subject to the local laws of each of the country’s 50 states.
Abortion was guaranteed in the US not by federal law but by a 1973 Supreme Court decision in a case known as Roe v. Wade. At the time, the understanding was that the voluntary termination of pregnancy is a constitutional right, expressed in the right to privacy, since governments cannot interfere in a pregnant woman’s choice of intimate forum. What the court did this Friday was to reverse the ruling of 49 years ago, now considering that linking the procedure to the right to privacy makes no sense.
This does not mean that abortion is banned in the country, but that states can now ban it, which should happen in the more conservative regions, which already had legislation called “trigger”, approved by the local Parliament and which were only awaiting authorization. of the Supreme Court to take effect. In Oklahoma, for example, a state law prohibits any abortion, except in cases where the mother’s life is at risk or in rape, as in Brazil, or in cases of incest. This Friday’s Supreme Court decision validates Oklahoma law and other local legislation in the same vein. In more liberal states, such as New York and California, nothing should change.
Have conservative states already taken action?
Three states have already announced that abortion is now banned: Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which tracks the theme, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin are expected to announce the same soon.
And what about abortion in more states? liberals?
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization and abortion advocate, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermond and the Washington state, in addition to the capital Washington DC, all have local laws that guarantee access to abortion. Some of them have even set themselves up as “refuge” points for people who need to have an abortion, even with legal support for women.
Companies that want to leave states where abortion is illegal and move to California can get tax breaks, Governor Gavin Newsom has promised. In Oregon, the local parliament in March approved $15 million in aid for patients in other states.
Why not guarantee abortion rights nationwide through federal law?
A federal law to legalize abortion nationwide could be drafted, but the chances of the current Congress passing a proposal to that effect are slim. Republicans, who are against access to the procedure, have the power to bar the measure in the Senate. And there is no consensus among Democrats to change the rules that allow the opposition to block approval of proposals.
Why did the Supreme Court review a decision of the court itself?
The historic change in position came after the Supreme Court gained a majority of conservative justices, a legacy of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021). He managed to appoint three magistrates, with the help of Republican senators. His allies blocked President Barack Obama from making an appointment in 2016, at the end of his term, and rushed to ensure that Trump appoints another judge in 2020, weeks before the election he lost.
